Currently local municipalities have enacted laws prohibiting the dumping or burning of leaves and other debris and are tending to promote the recycling of plastics, glass, paper and other materials including yard waste such as leaves and grass clippings etc. Collection of such materials is often accomplished by the use of paper or plastic bags which are then collected by the local municipality for recycling or disposal. The user must therefore fill these paper or plastic bags with material prior to collection. Such paper and plastic bags are inherently very light and flaccid in that the user may have a difficult time maintaining the bags in an upright or open material receiving configuration. This makes it accordingly difficult for the user to deposit and collect materials in the bags.
Methods of maintaining these bags in such an open receiving configuration are known and include using funnels and inserts to hold open and assist in the filling of such collection bags and containers. The use of such a funnel apparatus that is formed with an upper and a lower channel portion which allows the raking of the debris into the container with the container positioned on its side is described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,708,742 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,312,531. A similar apparatus that has both a passage and a handle to grip and pull up the apparatus to scoop the debris into the container is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,785,369.
In U.S. Pat. No. 5,205,107, a more elaborate apparatus that has a base, side plates, hinges, and clamps that are folded, fitted and attached together allows construction of a device that is positioned on the ground in front of a container laid on its side providing a method to rake leaves, twigs and heavier debris into the container is described. Other designs include metal or plastic frames formed from tubular material into circular or rectangular shapes. The frames are inserted in the opening of the container to hold the container in an open position as described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,981,274, 6,293,505 and in U.S. Pat. No. 5,308,027.
Each of the apparatus described present limitations in maneuvering the apparatus into the opening of the bag or container because of the overall size and weight of the apparatus and in the storage of the apparatus in a limited amount of space since most require some disassembly of components to reduce the space taken up by the apparatus. The numerous components of some of the described apparatus also add to manufacturing costs and subsequently to the expense to do the job of filling a container, a job that is usually done without an apparatus by the conventional methods of raking and manually scooping up the leaves and debris and dumping them into the container.
In order to address these limitations the present invention provides an easy to manufacture, easy to operate in set-up, use and breakdown as well as compact storage and inexpensive chute apparatus formed from a single sheet of material that makes collecting leaves and debris in flexible bags or containers quicker and easier.